


Mystacor Masquerade

by Mang0Queen



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: F/F, I'm not sorry, Masquerade, Really Really Gay, ball room, nothing but self indulgence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-17 06:01:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28844271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mang0Queen/pseuds/Mang0Queen
Summary: 7,716 words of self indulgence."If they were going to make a run for it, the time had come.Catra and Adora stood cornered, Glimmer and Bow closing in in them, Micah standing by the door amused at the sight. Catra eyed her surroundings, she could duck past Bow and go for the window, but then what? And Adora… she couldn't leave her, but the blonde would never be able to keep up with her."
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra/Glimmer (She-Ra), Adora/Glimmer (She-Ra), Catra & Glimmer (She-Ra), Glitradora - Relationship
Comments: 4
Kudos: 48





	Mystacor Masquerade

If they were going to make a run for it, the time had come.

Catra and Adora stood cornered, Glimmer and Bow closing in in them, Micah standing by the door amused at the sight. Catra eyed her surroundings, she could duck past Bow and go for the window, but then what? And Adora… she couldn't leave her, but the blonde would never be able to keep up with her. 

"But I thought that Princess Prom only happened every 10 years…" Adora's gaze shifted back and forth between Glimmer and Bow. 

"This is a separate event entirely!" Glimmer, she was practically bursting with excitement. Grinning ear to ear as if she wasn't cornering the pair in such a terrifying way. 

"The Masquerade is an old tradition, one that got dropped during the war" Bow explains, Catra could already see him planning how he wants to do the women's hair for them on that evening.

Catra backs up further, pressing against Adora who was already pinned to the wall. The pair close in, taking away Catra's only plan for escape without attacking.

"It's held in Mystacor, hosted by the head sorcerer. Invitations are passed out individually, thus why you each got your own. As host, Casta will be personally enchanting and delivering each mask, as well as be the only one who's mask lacks such magic." Micah explains gently, still smiling at the way the former horde soldiers had reacted to Glimmer's shouting.

Catra tenses at the mention of magic masks, her claws digging into Adora's jacket as she pushes herself even closer. Glimmer coming in to try and help.

"Don't worry, the magic is a perfectly harmless little spell, it just makes it so no-one who looks at or hears the wearer can figure out who they are, perfect anonymity!" Glimmer smiles, clearly trying to sooth Catra.

The thought of being unrecognizable does help somewhat. "Well… when is it?" Catra's voice tight as she forces the words out.

"It'll be a couple weeks from now! Plenty of time to work out what you'll wear, maybe practice dancing…" Bow says, earning an elbow from Glimmer for the slight against her.

"Casta will deliver the masks to me in separate packages, I will be making sure none of you can see each other before." Micah smiles, finally stepping away from the door frame.

"Wait why?" Adora asks, holding onto Catra as they tentatively step away from their corner.

"Cause that's half the fun! A ball where no-one can know who anyone else is!" Glimmer starts.

"Then at the end of the night, everyone takes off their masks to reveal who they are!" Bow finishes for her, the both of them now nearing vibration levels of excitement as the pair in front of them are starting to break. 

"So it's a bunch of princesses in a room where no-one knows who they are?" Catra snorts slightly.

"Well not just princesses, there will be sorcerers, dignitaries, I heard that some former horde members and clones will be invited" Bow smiles gently.

Glimmer grabs both other girls hands, pulling them out toward their own bed "just imagine how fun it will be! Great music, lots of dancing, good food, and no one can give you weird looks or ask hard questions because they don't know it's you!" She says, her thumbs running in gentle circles on both of their hands. 

Adora leans into Catra, the pair humming in thought for a moment, eyes training on the third woman's hands in theirs. Turning their gazes to each other, then finally back to Glimmer. 

"How are we supposed to say no to that?"

"That's real unfair of you, Sparkles" both girls speak at the same time, soft smiles on both of their faces. 

Glimmer’s smiling blinds them as she pulls both women into a tight hug, giggling excitedly before quickly standing again, leaving them on the bed, grabbing Bow’s wrist, and dragging both him and Micah back out of the room. The two women watching in surprise at the blur of movement.

“So what was that?” Catra leans into Adora, her tail waving, despite still bristling.

“I think Glimmer just asked us to go to the ball with her…” Adora’s voice is quiet, her hands tangling into Catra’s “You don’t think she knows, do you?” even with the room quiet, her voice is hardly more than the tiniest whisper. 

“I don’t think her dad would have been here for that if she did”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Over a couple days Glimmer is constantly teleporting into their room, chattering excitedly about this and that, randomly selecting pieces of clothing or accessories for either to try on. A myriad of outfits arranged in their room, several different suits and dresses laying around. She had even coaxed Catra into trying a dress on, quickly insisting on something else because of how obviously the magicat hadn’t liked any part of it. Adora on the other hand had been in and out of several different styles of dresses Glimmer had managed to find.

Standing in front of a mirror, Adora couldn’t help but let the corners of her mouth lift, Glimmer standing immediately behind her, Catra humming to herself as she watches them both. The dress Glimmer is putting on her is a deep maroon, clinging tight around her chest, no straps to hold it instead, the skirt falling in three layers. Small embroidered roses decorating the hips and around the corset-like portion. The layers all shifting and swaying almost independently from each other when she moves, Glimmer peaks out around Adora, holding the dress in place to make sure it fits right.

“What do you think of this one?” Glimmer prods, her eyebrows raised as she scans over the sight in the mirror. A light tinge pinking her cheeks as her eyes come up to land on Adora's in the reflection.

"W-well, I actually do rather like this… though I thought we aren't supposed to know what each other are wearing for the ball?" Adora coughs to cover up the nervous stumble in her words at having Glimmer so close for this. 

"Technically, we aren't, but I also know that if I'm not here forcing this, neither of you will dress up appropriately" Glimmer chuckles by the end, but her thoughts being cut off by an indignant snort.

"Speak for yourself, Sparkles, I happen to have an outfit already chosen!" Catra calls out from the bed, her tail lazily flicking in the air.

Glimmer crabes her neck to turn and stare at her "Well look who's getting into the Masquerade spirit! Though I'm proud of you, I also won't be surprised to see your princess prom suit again" Glimmer laughs at the offense expression Catra puts on, but something else happens that Adora can't see, something that has Catra's face light up the moment Glimmer's back to focusing on Adora.

"I do really like this on you, I know it's a bit more extravagant then you like, but that's kind of the point of the entire ball, to be over the top for a night" Glimmer states, pulling the corset tighter before tying it off and stepping around in front of her.

"I understand that, but-" Adora starts, but the wide eyed look from Glimmer, mixed with a half hearted glare from Catra "actually… yes I really like this one too" Adora finishes, Glimmer's wide grin forcing her to smile happily by the blinding sight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A couple days break from Glimmer, who was now satisfied that the pair would be appropriately dressed for the ball. Adora lazing across their bed, Catra sprawled on top of her, head tucked into Adoracs neck. 

"What if we told her at the ball?" Catra muses, her breath against Adora's neck forcing the blonde to shiver slightly.

"But she wouldn't know it was us…" Adora sets the pad she was tapping at aside, turning her attention instead to tracing her fingers around Catra's back.

"Exactly! Like we… we both know how we feel about her… we could like… see what she thinks too, and she won't know it's us, so it won't mess stuff up, right?" Catra lifts her head to lock eyes with Adora.

"But… how will we be able to talk to her about it if we don't know who she is?" Adora asks, shifting nervously at discussing their shared crush openly, by themselves, in their own room, with the door locked, and the windows closed.

"That… ok that I'm not sure, maybe we'll just dance with whoever for a while, I'm sure we'll be able to figure out who she is by that" Catra groans, her voice hopeful as her head plops back into Adora's neck.

"Yea… but… I have to agree-" Adora mumbles, cut off by Catra jolting and staring surprised at her. "We should tell her is all, and the ball seems like as good a time as any, whether during or after" Adora smiles at the smug expression Catra puts on before the two of them lean together for a slow smiling kiss.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Catra was no stranger to odd smells that made her gag and want to cry even. But this was something new to even her. Sitting at the vanity mirror, an array of spray bottles, brushes, combs, and a pair of scissors all laid out. Bow standing over her as he gently brushes and cuts her hair, keeping its almost wild look, while giving it a clear shape. Every now and then plucking a bottle up, showering her in it, and then waiting patiently as she coughs and hacks at the sudden assault to her senses. 

"Do you have to use so much of that stuff?" Catra coughs, pulling her hand away from her face to try and glare at the beaming boy behind her. 

He just keeps his smile and continues to work "Oh don't be a baby, if you'd let me do this a bit more often, I'd know how to handle your hair better" he gently holds her head still with one hand as he sets back to working a comb through her hair "though I suppose you're not as bad as Adora" he states, the gentle jab bringing a smile to Catra's face.

"What are you planning for yourself at the ball?" Catra taps her knees, the sound of scissors not being enough for comfort.

"Well since, unlike some people, I take proper care of my hair" Bow starts, dodging an elbow before continuing "I think I may leave it alone, no need to change my own state of perfection" he smiles, and poses for a moment, holding a comb along his jaw in a similar way Seahawk would stand. 

"Geez, brag some more why don't you?" Catra can't get the smile off her face, making her comment more of a light joke then sarcasm.

"Sadly, my own hair care won't work for you since your hair is so much different, speaking of, for the ball, want to leave it natural or I have something we can slick it back with, washes out really easy" Bow goes back to trimming before grabbing another bottle off the vanity. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It wasn't until only a couple days away from the night of the ball that she broke. She promised not to do it this time. But her nerves had gotten to be too much.

Adora broke out the cork boards and red string.

Glimmer didn't know what to expect when Bow said they had a crisis on their hands, and to go to Catra and Adora's room. But the mountains of random open books, all of their furniture crammed into corners, Catra sitting half buried in books as she furiously takes notes, Adora standing and holding Melog up on their hind legs pretending to slow dance with them while explaining the motions in the most stale technical wording possible.

"I know you can dance, but what we did at princess prom won't cut it for this! It's like Glimmer said, extravagance is the name of the game! So the dances are slower, more complicated, and most impor-" Adora's voice cuts off half through her sentence, her face lighting up bright red, and her body running perfectly stiff in the dance pose. Catra whipping around wide eyed for both women to stare at Glimmer.

Glimmer couldn't help but to laugh, both women just staring and blushing quietly. Adora drops Melog, who wanders off toward Glimmer, gently nudging into her hip. Glimmer, still laughing, obliges the large cat with scratches, turning her attention back to the two dorks she just caught.

"What happened to no planning this time?" Her voice dripping with her own entertainment at watching the pair. 

"I just… it's a new event, and I want to be prepared!" Adora defends, rubbing at the back of her neck.

Catra on the other hand slams her note book closed and shoves it away, curling around over the cushion she was seated on. Propping her chin on her hand and trying to play off the blur of movement. "Heyyyy… Glim- Sparkles! Whats up?" 

Glimmer crouches down by the brunette, gently flicking Catra on the nose “I came to check on you two since I didn’t see you at lunch, but looks like you dorks were ‘busy’” Glimmer feigns annoyance, smirking as Catra blushes.

“We just!...” Adora starts, faltering as she makes eye contact with Glimmer, pink burn at her cheeks, unable to hold eye contact for long “We’re just worried about messing up at the ball.”

Melog practically pounces on Glimmer as she turns her gaze back and forth between the two women in front of her, both blushing and unable to hold eye contact for more than a moment.

“Hey, this is supposed to be nice and fun, nothing to stress over, I promise” Glimmer smiles, reaching back to continue giving Melog attention so she doesn’t end up on the floor with Catra.

“We know, Sparkles, you know how she gets, if there’s not some kind of plan she’ll die” Catra forces a smirk on to her face, trying her best to ignore the red tint on her face.

Glimmer can’t help the blush that rides up her cheeks the longer she looks at the two women, how Adora shifts nervously makes Glimmer want to squeeze her till she pops, saying nothing of the display Catra made of all but diving over her chair to hide that little book. “Well, just make sure you two eat, ok?”

“Of course, sorry about making you worry” Adora mumbles, still looking away.

Glimmer manages to get back to the door without Melog dragging her back, holding the door as she closes it, she’s not sure what possesses her to pause before leaving. “Well, I guess I’m looking forward to seeing how that dancing practice turns out” then winking to both girls, she can hear some kind of choking sound as she closes the door behind her.

A rush of glitter and short fuzzy sensation later and Glimmer is standing outside of Bow’s room. Not waiting to knock as she dives through the door. “Bow!...” Glimmer groans as she stumbles around, her cheeks still red from her encounter with the other women.

Bow hardly looks up from his tracker pad, leaning back in his cushion in time for Glimmer to flop on top of him. “Have a nice talk with them?” he teases, grinning behind the piece of tech in his hands.

“Ugh! I caught them beig weird, but then they started being adorable and I just needed to get away before I said something stupid…” Glimmer groans into the side of the cushion, unable to will herself to lift her head at all. 

Bow just whistles “stars… I swear every day you get worse and worse.”

Finally Glimmer pushes her elbow into his stomach “it’s not funny! What’ll I do if they know...” 

“That you’ve fallen hard for both of them?” Bow’s voice shaking with laughter at Glimmer’s animated misery.

Glimmer screams into the cushion “don’t say it like that!” a muffled sob yanks any pretense of humor away from Bow “I’m such a terrible friend!” 

Bow gently kneads his palms into Glimmer’s back “you’re not a bad friend, Glimmer, you just have little… ok big, crush, nothing wrong with that” Glimmer still doesn’t move, her body convulsing somewhat with each muffled sob.

It takes a while for the sobs to quiet, Glimmer pushing herself off of Bow and sitting down near him, her back fully facing toward Bow “I just… I don’t know how much longer I can go without saying anything, Bow” she turns around to him, her eyes red and puffy from crying, sniffling quietly.

Bow quickly squishes her face between his hands, her cheeks pressed against his palms “Glimmer, slow down! We both know that you’re just spiralling now. Breath with me!” forcing her to keep eye contact he slowly inhales, Glimmer repeating just after him. The pair exhaling together after a couple seconds. “Now… you have feelings for them, if they weren’t real, you wouldn’t be melting down nearly this much. So I think what we need to decide is what to do about it.” Pulling his hands away, and folding one arm over his chest, resting his other on the first and tapping his chin in thought.

“I can't do anything about it, Bow! I-” Glimmer starts.

“Nope!” Bow doesn’t give her the time to finish her thought, pushing a finger from his chin into her lips “you can do anything!” He closes his eyes, going back to his train of thought, Glimmer nervously shimmying in place. 

Bow eventually pulls his hand away, picking up his pad and tapping away quickly. Glimmer quietly watches, trying not to think too much about her situation. “Wait!” Bow sets his pad onto his lap “why not ask them at the ball?” Bow asks, scanning Glimmer’s face.

“What? I can’t do that, how will I even know if I’m confessing to the right people!” Glimmer’s face lights up red at the suggestion.

“You picked Adora’s dress for her, and we both know Catra won’t leave her side for anything...” Bow’s voice is dead pan as he tries to keep his face gentle. 

“Yea, but-” Glimmer starts.

“No buts… you’re right, you can’t keep going like this… you need to talk to them about this. They need to know, Glimmer.” Bow stands, dragging Glimmer to her feet “we know them, if you tell them how you feel only one of two things could happen. Either they are willing to take the chance to bring you into their relationship, or they don’t and we can all stay friends because they aren’t the kind of people to cut you off for feeling.” 

Bow walks Glimmer back to the door of his room, opening the door and gently holding her out the doorway “think about it… I’ll be there to support you if you need, but for your own sake, you need to tell them.” He waits for Glimmer to disappear in the rush of sparkles, closing the door with a pensive expression.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The morning of the ball, Micah insisted on everyone eating together at breakfast. Adora and Catra both slouching in their seats, bags hanging under their eyes. Glimmer in not much better condition. Bow's eyes darting between them all. 

"So… it's almost time! You all know how the teleportation spells work, correct?" Micah fills the silence, deciding he'd had enough of just silverware scraping.

Adora looks up from her plate "what teleportation spell?" 

"Oh, well that how you'll get to Mystacor tonight, the invitations all have a small spell circle drawn on them, you just have to activate the circle, and it will bring you to the entrance hall in Mystacor" he explains around bites of food, clearly grateful to have some amount of conversation.

"Ok… how do you activate a spell circle?" Adora's eye brow lifting as she processed his words.

“Well, since the masks magic is so temporary, once they are on, that’s it, if you take them back off, the magic won’t activate again when you put them back on. So the invitations will recognize the mask's magic, simply tap the invitation to the mask, while you're wearing it, and then you’ll be in the entrance hall.” Micah picks up his drink part way through, gesturing with it as he talks.

“And that’s… that’s it?” Catra asks her claws clanking against her plate.

“Yep! It's how they make sure only people who are invited can come” Glimmer chimes in, straining her voice to sound upbeat when the exhaustion is clear on her face.

“The enchantments are all pre-set and ready to go, once they’ve been used though, they'll be gone” Bow adds, smiling with his plate cleared already.

Micah nods along, turning his gaze to Catra, a soft knowing look on his face “the magic has no lingering effect, and can be ended easily, even if half the fun is making it last as long as you can.” He smiles and turns his attention to finishing his breakfast, apparently satisfied with sharing what they had needed to know. The meal ended in silence, Glimmer not daring to look at Catra or Adora, and the pair doing much the same to Glimmer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Adora couldn’t stop her hands from shaking. Her hair had been done by Bow, Glimmer had helped her into her dress, and now she could just wait in her room holding two invitations, with a pair of masks sitting on their bed. 

Pacing wasn’t helping much, her eyebrows creased in worry as every possible idea of what could go wrong play out in her mind. She hardly even notices when Catra enters with her, dressed and appearing more prepared than Adora entirely.

Her hair slicked back against her scalp, ears twitching awkwardly. A long violet coat, trimmed with swirling embroidered patterns in gold mining down along the buttons, and around the cuffs. Her shirt is not visible beneath the coat, hidden further by the mass of ruffles of the white cravat tied neatly around her neck. A simple pair of black slacks and the shiny polished boots Glimmer had bought for her after Brightmoon had been rebuilt, ending the outfit off.

"You look… wait… why does that look like something Seahawk would wear?" Adora's near short circuit at the sight of Catra being stopped by the distinct style that Catra has never expressed interest in.

The brunette shrugs, smirking anyway "you said 'over the top' who do we know that fits that description better than Seahawk?" Catra smiles as she takes in Adora's own outfit as well.

The maroon dress Glimmer had picked for her had been meticulously cared for so that not even the slightest amount of imperfection has touched it. Her hair on the other hand had a pair of braids running along the sides of her head, gathered at the back where the rest of her hair was wrapped in a round bun. Her feet hidden beneath the skirts edge, hiding whatever shoes she may have chosen for the evening.

"You look… amazing…" Catra can't help the waver in her voice, her nerves mixed with her girlfriend being so stunning has shaken up her head. The blush that flashes over Adora's cheeks leading her to call it a win in spite of the slip.

"So do you, though, wasn't expecting the purple" Adora smiles, hands clenching into fists over and over as she tries her hardest not to grip the skirt of her dress.

Catra smirk deepens "Well unlike you I've come to learn that I can't only wear red all the time" laughing at Adora's gasp of indignation.

A distant clock binging interrupts any attempt at response Adora has. The pair of boxes holding masks giving off a front glow.

"Well… time to get going I guess" Catra whispers, stepping close to Adora as they both reach for a box.

Magic around the boxes unravels to reveal the pair of masks. One a half face cover in gleaming perfect white, black diamond patterns across half, rising in a vague crown like shape along the top, the bottom curving gently along where cheekbones should be, and coming to a small point at the empty nose. The other a full face cover, split into quarters, silver, gold, black, and white, the whole of its trim painted with what appears to be sheet music, its notes and marks unreadable to either of the women. 

"This one would go better with that coat I think" Adora mumbles, holding the half mask towards Catra, the woman shrugging and trading masks with the blonde.

They couldn't help but giggle as they looked at eachother, the masks tied around their heads as the magic shimmers around their forms. The more they stare the more the sight distorts, the lines of their forms blurring like watching a thin line of smoke rise.

Lifting their invitations up, Adora reaches out to grab Catra's hand, squeezing tight as the both bow their heads slightly and tap the invitations against their masks.

The rush of light is overwhelming, but short lived, the pair finding their feet on solid ground again. Surrounded by marble walls, bright colored tapestries flowing from the ceiling. A crowd of teleporting guests all appearing from empty air, their shimmering silhouettes shifting around the series of unique masks. Countless variations of complicated and detailed outfits wander down the hall, following the line of tapestries.

Still clutching hands, Adora and Catra follow the crowd, their shoulders pressed together as they gaze around, taking in the figures around them. The hall opens up into a massive room, rows of pillars wrapped in lights and tapestries line the walls, tables laid in food fill the space between each pillar. Glowing illusions of animals running in circles fill the air, providing the shifting light that fills the room. A pedestal at the center of the room holding a small orchestra all dressed in uniform black suits and solid colored golden masks. Casta standing tall with her hands folded in front of her, a baby blue gown wrapped around her and topped with an icey colored mask, her body standing out in the forming crowd without any shift.

"Hello! I'm so happy that you've all come here tonight! I'm sure you all have read the invitations so you know the rules, no removing your mask until the end of the ball! Otherwise the magic won't take effect again, and everyone will see you for who you are! When midnight comes, the bell with toll, twelfth tolls and all of the masks will lose their magic at once!" She smiles and steps away from the band, standing at the very edge of the pedestal "it has been more than 20 years since the last Mystacor Masquerade, with the war we thought such a gathering would be a potential danger. But that is the past, so to mark the future, the Masquerade makes its return! So please, eat, drink, dance, and talk, make new friends and guess your old ones!" Casta punctuates her finishing by tossing more illusions into the air, a pair of stags charging off with bright glowing antlers.

Adora cranes her neck trying to see through the crowd, scanning for anyone who could potentially be Glimmer. The sea of masks and smoke makes the search all the more difficult. Some masks being simple porcelain masks made to resemble human features, others more ridiculous depictions of animals or some plants. The crowd thins as people separate for either food tables or as the music picks up, the dance floor.

Catra tugs on Adora's hand to pull her attention, nodding to her side when the blonde's eyes are on her. Following Catra's motion her eyes fall on a woman in an almost ethereal and silvery mask, shaped to appear like a large butterfly, the mask's eyes blinding perfectly with the pattern of the wings. Her dress dragging lightly on the floor, held out wide by a full petticoat, the entire dress covered completely in delicate embroidery of vines and butterfly wings, the floaty fabric in a vibrant turquoise and embroidery in pastel pink, off the shoulders a pair of what could be sleeves hang loose away from her arms like thin wings.

A man walks beside her, a flowing silver tailcoat swaying behind him around the knees of matching slacks, the styling lacking in embroidery, but a complete lack of midriff brings the unique styling despite its comparatively plain design compared to the woman's dress. His mask is very similar to Adora's, but where hers has a delicate passive expression, his is grinning almost unsettlingly wide.

The woman seems to see the two, nodding at Adora for the man, who swivels around to face the pair. Walking away from the woman towards them. 

"Well hello…" he walks up to them, his voice distorted, shaking and splitting in two different pitches at the same time. 

The woman quickly follows, grabbing his hand with a huge and pulling him away before either can respond. Catra shifts uncomfortably before turning to Adora.

"So… should we dance then?" Catra holds her hand out, earning a short chuckle from Adora before she takes it, pulling the both of them out to the dance floor for a few songs. Allowing their bodies to relax for a bit, they have time, they have a plan, no reason to worry before it's time.

The party goes on, dancing, and eating, Adora needing to pull her mask away slightly to get small bits of food to her mouth, earning snickers from Catra each time. Many things from all over Etheria liter the banquet tables, the excited cackle of a cat masked woman in a plain black suit piercing through the music, a tall thin man standing with her, a glittering silver mask with no face, just one eye hole, a long form fitting black dress hanging off his shoulders. 

Catra spotters at the sight of the pair, turning to Adora to hide her masked and magiced face. Coughing on the near choking "Adora… Adora.. I think that's Entrapta and Hordak!" Catra whispers.

Adora follows Catra's gaze before gasping "i think you're right… I mean… I guess Micah did say people from the Horde were invited." Adora mumbles, grasping at Catra's hand and pulling her away. 

The brunette woman hadn't realized she was holding her breath until she was gasping, away from the near interaction with Hordak. Pushing herself closer to Adora, taking deep breaths as Adora wraps her arms around her. Standing near a doorway, the glass is cool to the touch, on the other side is a completely empty terrace, stone statues of animals arranged on short stone walls. 

Adora looks around before pushing the doors open, pulling Catra out into the cold wind. "Ok take a breather" Adora whispers, closing the door behind her. 

Catra just quietly holds onto Adora, her breath evening out, but the chill wind pushing her to cling to the impossibly warm woman beside her. 

"We can not ask her tonight if you want" Adora's voice is quiet, but makes Catra jolt anyway.

"What?! Why?!" Catra winces at her own voice cracking "why wouldn't we do it tonight?" 

"I don't know, I just don't want to push you into a panic by having too much stress in one night" Adora gently holds Catra's cheek brushing her thumb back and forth along her face. 

Catra has to fight the purr building in her throat "aim fine, Adora!" Her voice is strained as she resists her own annoyance "this is what I want, what we want, so I'm going to, ok?" 

Adora nods, smiling softly "of course, just say if that changes, otherwise, we stick to the plan" Catra nods in affirmation.

"What plan?" A man's voice calls out, pulling shrieks from both women as they both jump back, standing defensively by each other to face the grinning mask of the silver suited man, the now open door behind him. 

"Oh uh… we… we have a plan too… surprise… uhhh Casta?" Adora stumbles, her voice shaking far worse then the magic could do itself. 

The man tips his head to the side, turning to face Catra instead, an unspoken question coming even through the mask. 

"I can smell that it's you, Bow, we… we are confessing to Glimmer" Catra states, dead panned at Adora's attempt at lying. Jumping again as Bow slaps both hands over the cheeks of her mask, hoping from one foot to the other. 

"Seriously?! You are? Can I help?" His voice is clearly excited as he turns back and forth between the women, the grin of his mask poorly representing his own.

Adora is sputtering at Bow catching them and then immediately offering help "wha-? No questions? Just like that?"

Bow is pulled from his moment at the question, taking on the pose he takes often when teasing Adora or Glimmer "Well you two aren't exactly subtle…" he almost purrs the words, laughing quietly when the women make choking sounds of infignance.

Bow peers around the pair, scanning over the empty terrace. "Oooo this would be a perfect place, nice and alone…" the women take a moment to look around them, the terrace is devoid of furniture, far enough away that no-one else seems to have found it, but close enough that even with the door closed the music pours out to them clearly. Bow stands up straight "I can go get her, bring her here then make sure no-one interrupts you." 

Adora is trying to grasp the words when Catra answers "yea, that sounds great, thanks" Adora turns to stare at Catra as Bow grunts affirmingly, gently closing the door as he leaves.

"What are you doing? We are ready!" Adora says the moment she can't see How through the glass.

"It's now or never, Adora, the party can't be far from over by now, we've practiced" she grabs the tall blonde by the shoulders to hold her closer "we can do this! We have to do this" Catra whispers by the end, her own resolve barely holding up. 

"Well… if we are doing it now… at least we practiced earlier this morning too" Adora sighs, wrapping her arms around Catra' waist, battling off her nerves. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bow pulls Glimmer by the hand, his hold is gentle and hardly there as he guides her through the crowd. Insistence that he needed to come with her being her only real reason with following. 

As they weave through the party Glimmer can't help but frown, scanning over the people and missing the distinct maroon dress Adora is wearing. Without being able to find Adora, finding Catra is all but impossible.

Bow pulls her to a glass door, turning back to her and she can practically see his smile through his mask. "Ok, how do you feel?" He asks, letting go of her hand, and moving them to rest on her shoulders. 

"Fine? I wish I could find Adora… but she just kind of disappeared…" Glimmer frowns, her disappointment in her voice. Bow's smile doesn't budge, even if she can't see exactly.

"Well I just wanted you to go out there for a bit, ok? You need some fresh air if you're going to go through with your plans." Bow stages, squeezing her shoulders reassuringly. 

Glimmer sighs, he's probably right, reaching for the door handle quietly. Shivering at the cold blast of wind. Stopping in her tracks at the aight if the two women standing there. Adora in her rose patterned maroon dress, and full face mask. Standing beside her a woman in a violet and gold coat, the vague outline of a swishing tail flicking around her legs, could only be Catra if she's here with Adora. Glimmer doesn't notice as she takes a few steps outside until the door closes behind her, and with a quiet click, Bow bows as he walks away.

Glimmer turns back to the women, slowly making her way down the few steps separating them from her. "I'm sorry, I hope I'm not interrupting" she carefully states, her voice even, as her heart begins to thump louder and louder. 

The two exchange a look, stepping to either side of Glimmer quietly "not at all, we were hoping you'd come." The coated one says, the teasing lilt giving away for certain that it's Catra. 

Glimmer isn't sure how they've managed it, on this empty terrace, the music is still clear to them, but no one else is around. The pair of masked women stand on either side of Glimmer, bowing in the stiff way that often is done before and after dances at these sorts of places. Glimmer smiles and returns the bow, she wants to dance, even if she's not sure which of them will be doing it.

Smiling they slowly begin to walk in circles around Glimmer, each step in time with the music, and each movement keeping each other perfectly on opposite sides of each other. Just before worry can kick in with Glimmer, the suited woman she's sure is Catra lunges forward, a hand at her waist and one in her hand, and she's spinning in her grasp. Glimmer smiles at the sudden movement, stumbling to keep up at first, but settling into Catra's lead. Despite the slow song their dance is fast and free, steps still in time with the music, but each movement sends Glimmer's skirt billowing around her. Catra's claws gently settle on her slightly raised away to not hurt her, her grip on her hand is strong, the light fluff that covers her skin is softer to the touch than Glimmer had thought.

As they spin and twirl to the music, giggles erupting from Glimmer as they go, staring up into the murky hidden features of her smirking partner. A movement in the corner of her eye pulls her attention. For all the seemingly wild and erratic spins and twirls, the other women that can only be Adora kept the exact spacing they had started in, stepping in practiced motion around the other two, grinning widely.

Catra notices Glimmer's attention shift and leans in "not yet, Sparkles" she whispers, the warmth of her breath ghosting over Glimmer's ear.

The song picks up, reaching the climax of its music, Catra pulling Glimmer to spin even faster with her, her smirk melting away for a smile far warmer as Glimmer laughs at the entire interaction, her heart feeling lighter than any other time since the invitations arrived. Catra squeezes a tighter hold on Glimmer's waist, and she is fairly sure of what it means, as the magicat slides her hand closer to her back, and with a gentle sweep dips Glimmer lower than anyone else had before. Her hair just missing the ground as in a fluid motion, Catra's pulls her into another spin, pulling Glimmer back up in the motion so they are practically nose to nose be their full rotation. 

The song is ending, the orchestras practiced transition on it's way. Catra smiles softly at Glimmer, taking a short step away, letting go of her waist, and twirling Glimmer in place, the smaller woman laughing as she spins on her own, her gown billowing in wide circles around her. That she doesn't even notice when the hand holding hers lets go, and she's brought out if her twirl by the strong arms and hidden face of Adora now, Catra taking her place where Adora had been.

The new song starts and the new pair begins, warmth radiating off of Adora just naturally as they take practiced steps, where Catra's dance had been wild and erratic, Adora's is stable and steady, their spins are slower, their steps more defined from each other. Adora's grip is firm, Glimmer can feel the numerous calluses and scars that cover them. Her mask hiding her face, but the hardly contained glee that glinted with the light shining off her eyes told Glimmer what she needed. This song was faster than the last, yet Adora keeps them as their steady timing, no step misses its beat, but she doesn't let the music rush them through the moment. 

"I'm happy you decided to come out here with us" Adora's distorted voice whispers, somehow sounding both relieved and fearful. 

But before Glimmer can say anything, Adora's hold shifts, the hand on her waist pulling away and wrapping her arm entirely around her thighs, her grip on the smaller woman's hand tightening is assured firmness. The song goes into a long held high note, the entity of which Adora lifts Glimmer up into the air, slow and careful spins, her arm wrapped around her to assure her hold, her hand for stability. Glimmer bursts into even more giggles at this, struggling to resist wiggling out of habit. 

The end of the note comes and Adora's hold lossens just enough for Glimmer to slide back down to the ground. Adora holding her closer to her now, their masks practically clashing together. Glimmer can see Catra still stepping in time with them, the soft warm smile that had settled on her face remaining steadfast. 

Adora holds Glimmer out for a twirl, spinning the giggling woman around before holding her arm out for Glimmer to extend out as far as she can, throwing her free arm out for added flourish.

Glimmer could feel her heart hammering in her chest, glad of the mask's magic hiding the searing red that must have completely overtaken her face by now. Only deepening as a second hand grasps at her free one. Catra's gentle hold on one hand, Adora's on the other, the pair slowly taking up their rhythmic walk, both of their eyes locked on Glimmer, who couldn't help but switch quickly back and forth, unsure of who to look at.

The first toll of the bell sounds echoing over the music, at twelve, it will be midnight, at twelve the magic wears off, at twelve they take off their masks, and Glimmer needs to open her heart to these two women. Fear gripping at Glimmer as they both round onto her, both still holding her hands, Catra gently dancing her claws over Glimmer's knuckles, Adora drawing small circles on the back of her hand with her thumb.

"Glimmer, we… we know it's you, and… well there's something Catra and I need to talk to you about…" Adora says, her unmoving mask pulling the shorter woman's attention. The second bell tolls.

"Honestly we should have said something sooner…" Catra's voice hitches as Glimmer's gaze switches to her, struggling to hold eye contact. The third bell tolls.

Glimmer tries to speak but no sound comes, her mouth having gone completely dry. "We… we like you, Glimmer… hell, we think we love you, Glimmer" Adora' voice is small and nervous. The fourth bell.

"But we also love eachother… So like… w-would you… would you be willing to try being with both of us?" Catra stumbles, the magic being the only thing hiding the horrible blush that has overtaken her face. The fifth bell.

Glimmer feels like she could cry, she probably is. These two women who she had come to love, and had been so panicked about telling about it, had confessed to her. And now they're staring at her waiting for any kind of response. The sixth bell.

They're shuffling nervously, eyes darting to each other the longer the small woman is silent. Both of them run tense when a small choked sob slips out of Glimmer, shaking at the rush of emotions stopping her from getting any words out. The seventh.

"Glimmer, what's wrong? It's fine if you don't feel the same, we couldn't hate you for that if we wanted to" Catra' voice is so horribly gentle, even as it sounds like her heart is breaking to pieces with each word she says. The eighth.

"We'll always be together as friends, just like we have been, we promise" Adora's voice sounds shattered, the soft words being forced through shredded emotions. The ninth.

The floodgates are open, no magic could hide Glimmer's tears now. They love her, and they sound so heartbroken thinking that she doesn't love them back, why can't she just say it? This is everything she could have waited and yet she is just crying? The tenth.

They look down at their hands, still clasped on her, slowly and gently they drop her hands to her side. Both of their eyes glistening with tears they are forcing back for her sake. The eleventh bell tolls.

Glimmer's heart takes over, thoughts be damned, she's losing them already. Throwing her arms around both of their shoulders, yanking both women down with more force then either could have prepared for, sobbing into their shoulders. The twelfth bell rings out, echoing over the ball room, a pulse of magic ripping away at the Masquerade guests. 

"I do! I love both of you too! Tonight was like a dream and now I never want to wake up! Please, please don't pull away from me!" Glimmer can feel both of them relax, their arms wrapping around her back and pulling her closer. Pulling away to look up, she is met by the familiar blue and gold eyes, tear filled, but dripping with adoration.

And there goes any strength she had, the rush of emotion built with the realization that she could be seen for who she is again. Glimmer could feel her legs giving out from under her, but where the rush of falling would have been, the two women only tighten their grip, smiling at her lovingly. 

Catra and Adora turn to each other, smiles plastered to their faces as they kiss, slow and gentle. Then they turn to Glimmer, who has to hop up on her toes as Catra's head comes down first, their lips clashing, Catra's feeling cool from the wind , hearts pounding in their ears. Moments from them pulling away Adora is pulling off her mask and bending down next, her lips searing on Glimmer's.

The Masquerade has come to its end. But the queen of Brightmoon has something far better than memories and fancy clothing to take away from it. 

**Author's Note:**

> Yep, super gay. Got this shit out in a week cause I was incapable of thinking about anything else. Hopefully I'll finally start working on something else. Not something I'm particularly proud of, but hopefully you liked it.


End file.
